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Curtis Davies

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Curtis Davies
Personal information
Full name Curtis Eugene Davies
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
 Aston Villa
Number 15
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12:23, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Curtis Eugene Davies (born 15 March, 1985 in London) is an English professional footballer who plays as a central defender. He currently plays for Aston Villa and has previously played for Luton Town, where he began his career, and West Bromwich Albion.

Club career

Early career

Davies was born in Leytonstone, to an English mother and a Sierra Leonean father.[1] He started his career with Wimbledon, as a trainee, at the age of 15. A year later, he was released. He wrote to every club in the local area, including Arsenal, Crystal Palace, Queens Park Rangers, Tottenham Hotspur and Millwall asking for a trial. Luton Town responded first, two weeks before any other club, and a trial was offered. During the trial, he scored two goals in three games and was handed a scholarship straight away. He made his full team debut in 2003.

He made six appearances in the league during the 2003–04 season, with the away performance at QPR particularly good. The next season Davies achieved his first promotion as he appeared in 44 league games for the Hatters, scoring his first senior goal in the title-clinching win at Wrexham. Davies was named League One Player of the Year for that season,[2] as well as winning the Luton Town Young Player of the Year award. He also made the League One PFA Team of the Year for 2004–05, alongside five of his teammates.[3]

The next season Davies only managed six games, and a goal in his final game at home to Millwall before his impressive displays saw him signed by then-Premiership side West Bromwich Albion on 31 August 2005 for a fee of £3 million.[4]

West Bromwich Albion

Davies had an impressive first season for West Brom, making 35 starts and scoring two goals. However, he was unable to stop West Brom being relegated. On 28 July 2006 he pledged his future to West Brom, by signing a new four-year deal.

In 2006–07 Davies became West Brom captain on a permanent basis, having worn the armband on several occasions during the previous season.[2] He became Albion's second youngest captain of all time.[5] He received his first-ever red card against Middlesbrough on 17 February 2007 after receiving two yellow cards for challenges on Boro striker Mark Viduka. On 14 March, Davies broke his fifth metatarsal bone in the Baggies' game against Crystal Palace, ruling him out for the rest of the season.[6] This made him unavailable for selection for the first ever game at the new Wembley Stadium, where he was expected to have appeared for the England Under-21s. Davies was named in the PFA Championship team of the year for 2006–07.[7]

On 21 June, Davies had a transfer request rejected by West Brom. Davies subsequently handed in two further transfer requests, both of which were rejected. [8] On 30 August 2007, Albion announced that they had given permission for Davies to speak to Aston Villa regarding a possible move.[9]

Aston Villa

On 31 August 2007, Davies signed for Aston Villa on a season long loan, with a view to a permanent transfer in the summer of 2008.[10] He made his Villa debut in a 1–0 League Cup defeat to Leicester City on 27 September 2007.[11] He compared his performance to that of a pub team player saying:

"Just awful; I didn't contribute anything. I've been bigging myself up, saying I'm ready and obviously I'm not. I'm not good enough to get in the team yet. I'm honest with myself in every performance and that was rubbish - I looked like a pub team player."[12]

Davies made his Premier League debut with Villa in the 2–0 home victory against Derby County on 3 November. He scored on his first Premier League start in a 2–1 away victory at Wigan Athletic on 29 December 2007.[13] He then became a regular in Aston Villa's back four at the expense of Zat Knight.

On 1 March 2008 Davies suffered a season ending ruptured achilles tendon against Arsenal in a 1–1 draw and was thought to be out for around six months.[14] But he surprised doctors by making a remarkable comeback much sooner than expected. He played 60 minutes in a behind-closed doors friendly against Notts County at Villa's training ground, and then 62 minutes in another friendly against Reading at the Madjeski Stadium, a game that ended with a 1–1 draw.[citation needed] His move to Villa was made permanent on 3 July 2008, with Davies signing a four-year contract.[15] The fee was undisclosed but has been quoted variously at between £8–10 million.[16][17][18][19] He captained the side for the first time on 6 November 2008, in the 1–0 UEFA Cup win against Slavia Prague,[20] with regular captain Martin Laursen on the substitutes' bench.[21]

International career

Davies made his England under-21 debut on 28 February 2006, against Norway U21s.

He was named in Fabio Capello's first provisional England squad. Davies initially expressed shock at the news of his call-up.[22] He has since been named in other England squads but has yet to make his full debut.[23]

References

  1. ^ Kessel, Anna (2006-10-29). "Colour blind". The Observer. Retrieved 2008-06-24. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ a b "Davies Profile". Aston Villa F.C. 2007-08-31. Retrieved 2007-09-03. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ "Sunderland/Wigan dominate line-up". BBC Sport. 2005-04-24. Retrieved 2007-04-26. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ "West Brom snap up defender Davies". BBC Sport. 2005-09-01. Retrieved 2007-04-26. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ "Davies makes Villa switch permanent". West Bromwich Albion F.C. 2008-07-03. Retrieved 2008-07-21. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ "Davies to miss rest of the season". BBC Sport. 2007-03-14. Retrieved 2007-04-26. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ "Ronaldo secures PFA awards double". BBC Sport. 2007-04-22. Retrieved 2007-04-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ "West Brom reject Davies request". BBC Sport. 2007-06-21. Retrieved 2007-06-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ "Davies in Villa talks". West Bromwich Albion F.C. 2007-08-31. Retrieved 2007-09-27. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ "Villa sign Davies on season loan". BBC Sport. 2007-08-31. Retrieved 2007-08-31. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ "Aston Villa 0-1 Leicester". BBC Sport. 2007-09-26. Retrieved 2007-09-27. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ "Davies admits to nightmare debut". BBC Sport. 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-09-28. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ "Wigan 1-2 Aston Villa". BBC Sport. 2007-12-29. Retrieved 2007-12-29. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ "Injury rules Davies out for Villa". BBC Sport. 2008-03-01. Retrieved 2008-03-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ "Permanent Villa move for Davies". BBC Sport. 2008-05-25. Retrieved 2008-05-28. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ "Curtis Davies player statistics". soccerbase.com. Racing Post. Retrieved 2008-08-31.
  17. ^ "Aston Villa's Curtis Davies targeting comeback against West Brom". Daily Mirror. 2008-07-04. Retrieved 2008-07-21. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  18. ^ Hill, Graham (2008-07-21). "Villa boss O'Neill expects Davies to make quick return from achilles injury". Daily Mail. Retrieved 2008-07-21. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  19. ^ "West Brom sign £3.2m Dutch defender Zuiverloon from Heerenveen". Evening Standard. 2008-07-02. Retrieved 2008-07-21. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  20. ^ Howell, Bill (2008-11-07). "Martin O'Neill praise for midfield trio". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 2008-11-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  21. ^ Hughes, Ian (2008-11-06). "Slavia Prague 0-1 Aston Villa". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2008-11-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  22. ^ "O'Neill pride at England call-ups". BBC Sport. 2008-01-31. Retrieved 2007-02-01. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  23. ^ "Mancienne gets shock England call". BBC Sport. 2008-11-15. Retrieved 2008-11-16. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)


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